Family Photos: Keep the Memories Alive

Who knew it would be so challenging to find creative ideas for displaying family photos??? This is another project that I’ve been trying to figure out for a rather long time . . . . almost a year actually. We painted our living room late last summer, and before I could do anything at all with that room, we had the flood in our laundry room. So, with everything jumbled all together and piled up wherever we could put things to keep them out of the water, that’s where they stayed for several weeks while the damage from the flood was being repaired.

We just got that mess cleaned up the day before Christmas, so all last winter we were still trying to figure out where things were, whether there was any more damage, and what to do with all that stuff that was piled up. Then it was spring and it was time for all of the HUGE outside projects, which we did manage to get most of those tasks accomplished before it got really, super hot outside.

In the meantime, I’ve been thinking about all of the family photos that we have, and how best to display them. I have two walls in mind that I want to use for family photos, but I just can’t decide how to do this project. I’m wanting it to be creative but not cluttered; simple but not boring; artistic but not to far out there. You know what I mean?

One suggestion from our design diva daughter was to do a wall of all black and white photos in either black or white frames on the wall in the living room that is painted a light gray. That would look great, I think, but it might be too . . . . white . . . and black . . . without any color at all on a gray wall in a room that is all gray and white. Maybe we need a LITTLE bit of color?

Another suggestion was large color photos in black frames with white mattes on the wall in the hallway by the master bedroom that is painted a very, very soft shade of (I think it’s called) Vintage Wicker. Kind of a coffee with lots and lots of cream color. I’m just not sure I want everything so non-colorful. But I do want simple, so I guess it’s worth thinking about.

Then, when I decided to check Pinterest (where else?) for some ideas, I was kind of surprised by what I found. All of the images in this blog post I found on Pinterest, but most of the ideas I found were either (obviously) from architecture digest type magazines or interior decorator companies, and that’s just not really the look I’m going for. There were pictures of photo display walls with like a hundred framed photos all perfectly lined up, vertically and horizontally, looking like no one ever actually lives in a place like that.

Then there were the ones that had about a million things hanging on a wall, all shapes, sizes, and colors, including strange gadgets, weird words, and oversized letters along with maps, street signs, and old movie posters. All really cool stuff, but that just really wasn’t what I was looking for either.

So I finally found a few that seemed like they might be similar to what I want to do, and I even found a few that might inspire to to paint one wall lime green. Maybe, but probably not. But still, I do like the simplicity of the all white frames of different sizes and styles along with just a few “extra” details included in the display.

I’m still not sure what I’m going to do, but this has given me a few ideas to work with. I guess the first thing I need to do is decide which photos we want to include in our display, and work on one wall at a time. The groupings that are most compatible with our home are the displays that are primarily neutral colors, but maybe have one other color as a focal point. Like the gray, tan, and white combination with a touch of turquoise, or maybe even lime green. I don’t know, but as soon as I figure it out, I’ll be sure to take some pictures. Right now I’m just trying to get a grip on how to get this project started. I’m feeling inspired, so we’ll see how it goes.

In the meantime, I hope you can join us for the Favorite Things Blog Hop and Linky Party this week. Maybe I’ll find more inspiration somewhere out here in the blogosphere and that will get me moving in the right direction. Which display of family photos do you like best? Any of these? None of these? How do you display your family photos? I’m open to suggestions! Hope to see you at the party!